Part 4
THE TEETER-BOARD.
A log and a board, And two little boys, And a sound of fun, And a joyful noise! Teeter-tawter-O!
’Tis a teeter-board, And that’s fun you know! Down rides little Sam, Up rides little Joe! Teeter-tawter-O!
JACK HORNER’S THANKSGIVING.
_Little Jack Horner sat in a corner_ _Eating a Christmas Pie;_ _He put in his thumb and pulled out a plum_ _And said, “What a brave boy am I!”_
—MOTHER GOOSE.
Little Jack Horner Was not in a corner, And he had not any pie, Nor the trace of a plum On his little thumb; “Oh! a hungry boy am I,” Cried little Jack Horner.
Thanksgiving Day It was, and the way The wide old house was humming With the merry noise Of girls and boys At the thought of the dinner coming!— Chief noise, Jack Horner!
Why, even the lid Of the tea-kettle did A jig while the water bubbled, And the saucer and cup Clinked, “Hurry up!” And the oven’s fragrance doubled For little Jack Horner.
He was here and there, He was everywhere, He was in and out and under; Again and again And again, “Oh! when Will dinner be ready, I wonder?” Cried little Jack Horner.
Then, ready!—and there In his high chair Was perched brave Jack, the starving— Perched very close To the turkey’s nose That dear grandpa was carving For little Jack Horner.
A wishbone, a heart, A cranberry tart, Pie, pudding and nuts, had Jack Horner— And plenty of plums For both his thumbs! Ah! table is better than corner, Little Jack Horner!
_Clara Doty Bates._
POSY PINKHAM’S CAT.
Little Posy Pinkham always declared her cat un-der-stood what she said. I could tell little children many things to show that house-cats and house-dogs _do_ un-der-stand _much_ that is said, and some day I will.
One morning Posy came running downstairs, eager to tell her mama what she had dreamed, and Posy’s cat at once pricked up her ears to listen, for she, too, had had a dream. Any child who watches a cat asleep knows cats dream.
“What makes me dream, mama?” asked Posy.
“O, things you talk about, hear about, and think about.”
“_Meow-wow! ou-ou-wow!_” remarked Posy’s cat. She was saying that now she understood the reason of her own dream.
Posy’s cat had a very short, stubby tail, while she liked very much better to see long glossy tails, and wished every day of her life that her tail was long and handsome.
In her dream she was sitting on the gate-post, and had a long glossy tail that reached all the way down and lay on the ground, and was so beautiful that rats came into the yard to look at it and admire it.
“I wish dreams could come true,” said Posy.
“_Ow-wow-ow!_” said Posy’s cat; that meant, “_I_ do too.”
_Laura Hewells._
* * * * *
B stands for Bob, For Bob the Bad; And then, the funny letter, It stands for Bob, Just as before, When he is Bob the Better.
The Going of the Swallows.
(_Mother or Teacher sings_:)
What does disturb the Swallows? They come from everywhere! Criss-cross, zig-zag, and circle, Like bees they fill the air— What is it, little Swallows?
(_Children sing_:)
We have had word, Each little bird, To gather Together!
(_Mother sings_:)
What was the word, O Swallows, That it disturbs you so, That all day long in trouble You hurry to and fro? What is it, little Swallows?
(_Children sing_:)
We have had word, Each little bird, Of blowing! Of snowing!
(_Mother sings_:)
Ah, ’tis the winter-warning! No Swallow will delay! You’ll take to-night the long-flight, A thousand miles away, To find the sunny Southland!
(_Children sing_:)
Goeth each bird, As it hath word, From Northland To Southland!
(_Mother sings_:)
Goodbye, then, little Swallows! Safe fly you, little band! A happy winter to you Down in the southern land! But come again, dear Swallows!
(_Children sing_:)
Yea—when each bird Heareth the word To fly forth And fly North!
THE JOLLY YOUNG ELEPHANT.
One day when the Show was passing through a village, one of the young trick-elephants heard a little boy laugh out suddenly. This elephant liked little boys; he had a roguish look himself and could take a joke, and never acted “mad” when some mischievous little visitor fed him an empty peanut shell.
Turning his mouse-colored head, the young elephant looked in at the open door of the house they were passing. He flapped his big ears at what he saw there, and laughed too.
That night when the show was over, and he stood in a row with the other elephants going to sleep, he thought again of what he saw in that open door, and laughed once more. “That must have been fun!” he said to himself. “It must be fun to be a little boy! That trick was funnier than any we circus elephants are taught to do. I wouldn’t mind being a little boy myself! I truly wouldn’t!”
And then the jolly young elephant went to sleep, and dreamed he could do the little boy’s trick—and really he never enjoyed a dream so much before in all his life.
_George Dutton._
The Lions
(MARCHING PLAYS FOR NURSERY AND KINDERGARTEN.)
(_Teacher sings._)
The lions shun the sun! All day, asleep, Deep in the thicket’s shade The lions keep.
(_Teacher sings._)
’Tis in the dark midnights The lions wake; All silent and alone Their way they take.
(_Teacher sings._)
Awake, at night they seek The river-shore;
(_Children join in._)
And all the desert vast Shakes with their roar.
(_Children sing._)
The lions, they are kings! They make the law! Yea, every creature fears The lion’s paw!
(_Teacher sings._)
The lions never tire! With tossing mane They bound along The moonlit plain.
(_Children sing._)
They never, never tire! They speed away And follow, follow on, And take the prey!
_Grey Burleson._
ZERO.
If a Polar bear went upright, he would be as tall as a man with a boy standing on his head.
But the Polar bear goes on all-fours, and so he is nine feet long instead of nine feet tall.
A big white Polar bear lived at the Zoo—a place where wild animals are kept—in London, twenty-three years. He was named Zero, because he came from the cold Arctic regions. It was so much warmer in London that he was given great cakes of ice to lie on.
Zero weighed nearly a ton; but, though he was so large and so long, his tail was very, very short, as short as a goat’s tail.
Unlike all other bears, the Polar bear’s feet are shod with hair—short hairs set so close that one can’t see between them even with a magnifying glass. With this hairy sole to his feet, the Polar bear can walk on the smoothest ice without slipping.
Crowds of little London boys and girls used to go to the Zoo to watch Zero splash into his cold-water swimming-bath. Zero liked his swimming-bath best of anything in London—that and the ice. He never noticed the children at all.
Polar bears are fondest of fish for food. Zero was also fond of strawberries, but he would not touch the buns and apples the children tossed in between the iron bars of his great cage.
_C. P. Stuart._
* * * * *
Japanese doll-heads all in a row, One—two—three; Japanese doll-heads down below, One—two—three; Doll-heads three and three—do you see?— Added, make six; and the six make T.
_P. S. C._
The Country Cats.
We happy Country Cats, We think our lot the best Of all the beastie-folk, And pity all the rest. We’ve miles of grass just right For cushioned kitty-feet, All velvet-soft to suit A kitty scudding fleet. _Pit-i-pat, pit-i-pat!_
And barky trees, where cats Can climb, and sharpen claws, And fright the foolish birds With harmless _me-a-aws!_ And leafy garden-beds Lie round us everywhere— ’Tis naughty little cats That go and tumble there! _Pit-i-pat, pit-i-pat!_
And, O, the country nights! A cat can travel far And come and go all safe By light of moon and star. But best the dusky barn! With mice, and mows of hay, Where any cat can climb And sleep the day away. _Purr-purr-purr, purr, purr!_
There, when the cows come up— O, listen, cats in town! We hear in great milk-pails The milk go streaming down! And there on winter nights, Deep in her haymow nest, The peaceful Country Cat Knows well her lot is best! _Purr-purr-purr, purr, purr._